# Humidor/Chess Board Combination



## WaxingMoon (Aug 13, 2009)

Hello again everybody....

I have been working on a design for a chess board/humidor combination. After visiting several Cigar Shoppes, I see that a chess board is always around......

So, I thought.... why not combine one in to a humidor.

The picture is a computerized draft that I put drew up - which is pretty close to the what I had going on in the old noggin.... That decorative trim on the side drove me nuts trying to figure out how to make that look good.

I haven't drawn the drawers yet.... but, I need to before I start cutting the wood.... It helps to see what is going to work and what is not...

I plan on sealing the inside with Spanish Cedar and each chess player will have a drawer full of cigars.

Any thoughts from ya'all on whether it should hold a lot, or just a handful of neatly displayed stogies......???

The drawers will measure about....17" x 9" deep x 3-1/2" high (inside dims)... And, there will be two of them... (one for each player)... Overall dims are 24" x 24" x 6 3/4"

So.... this is just the beginning. I'm guessing it'll take me at least a month or a month and a half to do this one.... I'll post progress pictures as I go...

Fun stuff!


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## teedles915 (Jun 18, 2009)

i am not a chess player, but that is beautiful. I will watch this post and am anxious to see the progress


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## danmcmartin (Jul 25, 2009)

Fantastic! Was that done in sketch up?


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## WaxingMoon (Aug 13, 2009)

danmcmartin said:


> Fantastic! Was that done in sketch up?


Yes sir! Sketchup it is is. Sketchup is a FREE drafting program that you can download from google. It has a little bit of a learning curve, but once ya catch on, it's a very good program....


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## 92hatchattack (May 30, 2009)

Wow thats really great! I cant wait to see this when its done! It would be neat if you could incorpatate cigar bands onto the playing pieces, with pawns wearing like a 5 vegas classic band, and like the king or queen wearing like opusX bands or something.. LOL


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## ca21455 (Jul 23, 2006)

Great idea! Would there be a way to have a small drawer for each player to store a couple of smokes and then have a drawer in the middle to put the playing pieces?


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## WaxingMoon (Aug 13, 2009)

ca21455 said:


> Great idea! Would there be a way to have a small drawer for each player to store a couple of smokes and then have a drawer in the middle to put the playing pieces?


Sure..... But, maybe the playing pieces would look better in their own box.... Make a matching set? Somewhere down the road.....


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## KINGLISH (Jul 27, 2009)

WOW!! That is so sexy!!


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## WaxingMoon (Aug 13, 2009)

Finished drawing out the inside tonight.... everything looks like it'll fit like a glove. The drawers are beveled and will fit snugly in to the reverse bevel... nothing should get outta there.....


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## KINGLISH (Jul 27, 2009)

SO SO SO COOL! If I had a job and the money I would buy it! Good luck with it!!


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## danmcmartin (Jul 25, 2009)

Looks even better with the drawers open. Ya, Sketchup is fantastic. If you have any drafting or CADD experience, it should be second nature. If not, it should still be pretty simple. For those of us that spend a little time in a shop tinkering around it is a great tool. 

Any else think a Projects forum would do well here? Seems between all the humidor and smoking room threads, it would make them much easier to track. Just a thought.


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## nativetexan_1 (Jan 1, 2008)

Some people are soooo creative. Then, there's me. Great job!


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## DerStro (Jul 21, 2009)

I'd second a project forum, I'm always building miscellaneous things, it would be nice to be able to collaborate with fellow DIY'ers. The chessboard/humidor looks fantastic, I actually have a chessboard that looks VERY similar to the box you drafted, however it has a frosted glass top looking into the top drawer. I think I might take a weekend and convert it, a glass top would look super-sharp, that way lay people would be able to tell what it was as well =P

-edit-> Oh god...the commas...


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## Jumes (Jul 29, 2009)

Those side inlays will be beautiful. I wish I had the talent and patience. I would love to see a projects forum.


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## WaxingMoon (Aug 13, 2009)

Thanks for your interest! I made some progress over the weekend..... Just started cutting wood yesterday...

Still have a long way to go...
Here's a sneak peek :juggle:


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## zeavran1 (Aug 18, 2009)

That's a very beautiful piece and I think anyone would be proud to put their sticks to rest in it. How much would something like this go for?


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## danmcmartin (Jul 25, 2009)

Wow, I was wondering how you did that inlay. That is pretty cool! Don't stop showing us the pics.


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## Jumes (Jul 29, 2009)

Can't wait to see the final results. What are the squares and inlays made of?


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## veteranvmb (Aug 6, 2009)

Jumes said:


> Can't wait to see the final results. What are the squares and inlays made of?


 Heres an idea, I thought I might toss about. 
I dont think there is a person on this forum who wouldnt like to own this humidor, chess board when its done. 
Maybee we can purchase it from the craftsman,(and we know who you are), and raffle it off. Say its being sold for 500 dollars. 50 people put in 10 bucks a piece. I wouldnt know how to organize it, but there are some smart people on this forum who can figure it out, and this way we can keep the board"in the family"

Just a thought, and please no flames. Much regards Jerry


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## SkinsFanLarry (Aug 21, 2009)

Just wondering, where is the humidification for the humidor?

Great work by the way! :thumb:


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## WaxingMoon (Aug 13, 2009)

Thanks for all the kind replies.... The squares and inlay pieces are made out of Bird's Eye Maple & Maccassar Ebony. The body of the piece will be Bloodwood.

I have no idea what the fate of this thing will be, I just wanted to build it.... lol I haven't even thought of what it would go for.

I have a lot of little "piecework" detailed stuff to work through throughout the week, and I don't have any shop time available on the weekend, so it may be a little while before I can put more pictures up.

I am going to redesign so that there are two drawers for each player. One for the humidor and the other will hold chess pieces.

I can't wait to start working on the humidor part..... If everything goes well, this thing will be sealed tight with nothing but Spanish Cedar encasing the cigar area.....

I am thinking about finding a nice tobacco leaf and encasing it in epoxy - maybe in a paper towl roll or something.... then, after it dries - take it over to the lathe and spin out a couple of drawer pulls.... 

Good Stuff!


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## cp478 (Oct 23, 2008)

man that is nice! can't wait to see it finished!


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## holmes711 (Jun 1, 2009)

That's amazing Ed! That will be a beautiful piece when it's finished. You have an awesome talent!


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## KINGLISH (Jul 27, 2009)

WOW is all I can say!


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## defcon3 (May 3, 2009)

That is freakin BOSS!!!

WOW!!!

Cannot wait to see the finished project!!!!

WOW!!!


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## CrashTECH (Jul 8, 2009)

It looks great! I can't wait to see the final product!

Where are the chess pieces going to be stored?


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## WaxingMoon (Aug 13, 2009)

CrashTECH said:


> Where are the chess pieces going to be stored?


Thanks again to all for the interest in this thing.....

I went back to the drawing board and put in a 2nd drawer. So, the top drawer will be able to store the chess pieces and the bottom drawer will have access to the humidor part.....

Coming along nicely. I did a bunch of test cuts on some scrap wood last night.... trying to figure out how to get that inlay stuff put in the sides.... ought to be interesting. :ask:


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## turtlelax23 (Apr 27, 2009)

AMAZING!!!! I love it. Look forward to seeing the progress.


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## Bob Staebell (May 27, 2006)

Very nice looking work Ed. One note of caution on using bloodwood for the body. It is a bit more unpredictable in terms of warping/splitting over time when used as a solid wood in humidors. I built a hundred or so desktops with solid bloodwood bodies back in the early 90's, when I first got started. The failure rate was quite high in the first year & I switched to a 1/16" thick veneer for that particular wood to solve the problem. Ultimately I replaced 15-20% of those solid body bloodwoods over a 5 year period after they were built.

It's just my experience for what it's worth. Some species of woods & humidors don't mix very well unless used in a veneer form.

cheers,
Bob Staebell


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## WaxingMoon (Aug 13, 2009)

Thanks for the tip, Bob.....

I plan on giving the solid woods a pretty heavy coat of shellac on the inside - probably at least 5..... At the moment, I plan on using a clear coat epoxy on the chess board itself. Perhaps I should look at doing that on the inside. The seal offered by the shellac should fend off most of the problems associated with high humidity. Epoxy would probably make it survive a spacewalk.

Time is the true test.....


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## WaxingMoon (Aug 13, 2009)

Well.... after thinking about it for a couple of days, I started working the two sides.















After a couple of scrap wood runs I went for the real thing....

It worked out pretty good.... still a lot of fine tuning to do to the sides. Everything needs to be glued in place - then planed down to the finished 1/2"..... but, not bad for an evening.... I'll take it.















Probably going to measure up the front and back pieces as I have to cut out the holes for the drawers. After that, I won't be back at it until Sunday.....

Now maybe I can get some sleep..... this has been in my brain for the last couple of days....

Thanks for the interest....


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## KINGLISH (Jul 27, 2009)

So nice! Good work keep it up!


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## itsme_timd (Nov 21, 2008)

Awesome stuff Ed! Looking forward to more pics!


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## WaxingMoon (Aug 13, 2009)

itsme_timd said:


> Awesome stuff Ed! Looking forward to more pics!


Thanks Tim.... Sunday night, probably - have to do some chores for the next couple of days....


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## Tarks (Mar 3, 2009)

Great job. Can't wait to see more pics of the progress.


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## SmokeRings (Jul 5, 2009)

Ed you have a truly remarkable talent! Keep up the good work!!


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## Neighbor (Aug 11, 2009)

*Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's humidor .*


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